I have not been doing much quilting lately. I should say piecing, because I actually finished a couple quilts a week or so ago... but they were not mine, so that doesn't count. Lots going on to keep me away from my sewing machine.
You know spring is just around the corner when you see blue bonnets sprouting up. I think it could be a good year for blue bonnet pictures... if we get some rain. Lots of blue all over my back yard just waiting to come out if they get adequate rain to help them along. Nothing prettier than a backyard covered in blue. I'm thinking it's going to be a good year... I just know it is going to rain. This picture was taken on February 20th and blue bonnets are typically showing their color in early April, so I'm thinking it's looking really good at this point. Now this is the first year that I have been in my backyard as much as I have been lately. It wasn't until last May that I started my backyard makeover. I am just amazed at how many blue bonnets I am seeing pop up back there. I don't think there have been that many in previous years... but then I wasn't out there much. Previously only noticed them when they were already blue with blossoms. If all that I see out there now produces blossoms, my backyard will look like a sea of blue.
Last week I went to a retreat where there were lots of other ladies. It was a busy couple of days in a beautiful camp environment. Too much went on to tell about, but at one point I saw a lady walking ahead of me and I caught up and asked her where she got her shoes. I also asked if I could take a picure. I just think they are so cool. She bought them online from Dillard's. When I got home I checked it out online and it seems that these wonderful running shoes go for about $139... Guess I won't be buying a pair of these. Problem for me is shoes and I often don't get along too well... meaning I buy good shoes and two weeks after I have them, my feet start hurting. Bottom line is I would not consider buying these shoes for that much money and find out my feet don't like them after two weeks. I will have to look for another alternative. Surfing a little I found Newton Running Shoes that could be a good option. Didn't know there was such a brand, but it would be cool to have a pair of shoes that has my family name on them... and they are priced much better.
Spring is creeping up on us and we have lots of projects that need to get done. I guess I should say that I keep increasing my Honey Do List for my dear, sweet, wonderful husband. He has wanted to do something about the water running off the shed roof for quite some time. I had a good friend make this rain barrel for me and I thought the perfect place for it was to catch water off the shed. Now if we get some rain, I will get my barrel filled and the rain water will not continue to run up under the siding. It really was an easy fix... just took getting it on our To-Do List. Still have to get a connector from the downspout into the barrel... but it will work the way it is until then.
Another item on our list is more raised beds for my fenced in garden area. High fences are a good idea around here for gardens because we have lots of deer. For my first Texas garden, we put in a fenced garden last fall and constructed 4 raised beds. There is ample room for 4 additional beds and planting time is coming up real fast. We went to the lumber yard this morning and bought the materials for those beds. Next on the agenda is to get those beds constructed.
I want to plant some potatoes this year, and this is the time of year that you can find seed potato at the nurseries. I don't have the garden space ready for the potatoes yet, but I did go to buy my seed potato so I would be sure they didn't run out before I got there. Another item on my list is to build a "potato box" from a pallet. Just something I thought would be cool if it works. I have the pallets, and now the potatoes... so that will have to be next on the list. I won't put all my potatoes in a box, I will still have a full row that I will plant directly in the ground, and not inside the fenced area. We shall see how that works.
I bought a peach tree when I was at the nursery buying my seed potatoes and today I got it planted. One of the problems we have in this area, because we are pretty much on a sand hill... is ants that will strip your plants clean overnight. The lady at the nursery told me about this stuff called Tanglefoot that is like thick molasses. You first wrap the tree trunk up about 20" with a t-shirt that has been stripped 2" wide. After the t-shirt strip is in place, single thickness, you cover the strip with Tanglefoot... applied with a spatula... I used a fat popsicle stick. It is now like a fly strip wrapped around the tree trunk, but hopefully I will catch or deter the ants.
This is the bottom of my peach tree with the Tanglefoot applied. The inset on the right of the picture is a buried 2 liter soda bottle that has holes punched in the bottom. The bottle can be filled to help water or fertilizer to get to the deeper roots. I don't think it will replace normal watering, but I saw this used for various plants and figured it was worth a try to see if it helps my peach tree grow better. This tree is going to need lots of attention if it is to survive in my back yard.
We have a whole truck load of garden soil being delivered on Thursday, so more work is on the horizon. My fall/winter garden was not that impressive, but the real test of my ability to garden in Texas is about to begin. Nothing about gardening is the same here. I have to learn like I am a brand new gardener. We shall see what happens.
